US-India partnership on cyber-security

[Ruag]

An interesting read about adding a new dimension to US-India defence ties -

Gates pushes ties with India on cyber-security

NEW DELHI - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, moving to deepen U.S. ties to India as a key partner in a turbulent region, pushed Tuesday for expanded cooperation with New Delhi on a range of issues, from military technology to cyber security.

Arriving for a two-day visit, Gates met with top Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and S.M. Krishna, the external affairs minister. The trip comes after Singh traveled to Washington in November in the first formal state visit hosted by President Obama.

"This is a growing relationship between the U.S. and India," said a senior Defense official, briefing reporters after the meetings and speaking on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic protocol. "We desire to enhance, strengthen our sharing of technology with India, we want to share more information with India, and we want to develop cooperative programs in maritime, cyberspace and space area."

Officials in New Delhi have accused China of being behind an attack on Indian government computers on Dec. 15, the same day Google reported its computers were hacked in an attack allegedly originating from China. On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry officials denied Beijing was behind the attacks.

But both U.S. and Indian officials believe that China is, at best, an internet mischief maker and, at worst, a potential cyber-adversary. U.S. officials hope that tighter ties with India on internet security issues can help make the networks of both countries stronger.

Defense officials describing the officials' meetings offered few details about their discussion of China. But the Obama administration, like its predecessor, has been cultivating relations with New Delhi, seeing India as an emerging democratic power and a potential counterweight to Chinese influence in the region.

The U.S.-India partnership-building is also sensitive, given China's influence over the U.S. economy. But Washington wants India's cooperation on a number of vital U.S. foreign policy fronts, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. U.S. officials are concerned that without support from India, international economic sanctions against Iran would be less effective.

India's economy, with a large and growing technology industry, is vulnerable to cyber attacks, and a growing threat from Chinese hackers could push New Delhi closer to Washington.

Intertwined with shared concerns over security is the issue of an expanding defense trade. Defense officials have played down the idea that Gates traveled to New Delhi to sell weapons systems.

But there was little doubt that part of Gates' mission was to lower barriers to an expansion of weapons trade.

On his plane en route to India, Gates told reporters he was going to talk about relaxing export control rules so that the U.S. could more easily share military technology with India. The U.S. and India also are negotiating another set of agreements to allow the two nation's military to cooperate more closely.

India was buoyed by an agreement during the Bush administration on civilian nuclear power, but has been concerned over whether the Obama administration is following through. Gates' trip is the latest administration move to address New Delhi's concerns, following the November state visit, which was overshadowed in the U.S. by an incident in which a couple crashed the formal dinner held for Singh.

U.S. and Indian officials have a close intelligence-sharing relationship, particularly on regional terrorism organizations. Defense officials did not detail any discussions about terrorism during Tuesday's meeting, but Gates had flagged it as a likely issue.

"Perhaps the greatest common challenge India and the United States face is terrorism," Gates wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday in the Times of India. "Both of our countries know all too well the terrible human cost of terrorist attacks."

En route to India, Gates praised India's restrained response to the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack. India blamed terror groups in based Pakistan. Pakistan has arrested several people in connection with the attacks, but many in India would like Islamabad to act more decisively.

Gates pushes ties with India on cyber-security - baltimoresun.com

 

[Chanakyaa]

Defence, nuclear energy , space and now cyber security.
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